A periodic reaction to Jewish baseball players currently in the major leagues, and an excuse to entice people to buy my new book, The Baseball Talmud!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Possible Jews to Watch: B.J. Rosenberg, Robert Roth

Thirteenth-round pick B.J. Rosenberg out of the University of Louisville has quickly put himself on the Phillies' prospect map with a dominating first professional performance.The 22-year-old 6'2" righty has a microscopic 1.06 ERA in his first 17 innings with Williamsport of the New York-Penn League, striking out 29 and walking 8. He has allowed just one home run, and has six saves.As for Robert Roth, the 2006 19th round pick by the Phillies, the recovery from labrum surgery that cost him all of 2007 appears to be coming along nicely. Now 19 years old, Roth has pitched to a 1.59 ERA in 45 2/3 innings over 7 starts, also for Williamsport. He's allowed just 12 walks, though the strikeout rate is not overwhelming- just 18. Still, the year after such surgery, health, rather than performance, is the primary concern, and he's answered the bell all year so far. A 1.59 ERA is just a bonus.I will try to see them both in the coming weeks- unfortunately, he makes only one trip to Staten Island, and it isn't clear whether I'll be able to get there.But to get a clear look at Rosenberg and Roth, let's vote him into the New York-Penn League All Star Game!More on them both as I hear more-I currently have an e-mail into the Crosscutters. If I can get them, I will be posting interviews in the coming weeks.

About Me

Howard Megdal is the Editor-in-Chief of The Perpetual Post. He covers baseball, basketball, and soccer for The Journal News, Capital New York, MLBTradeRumors.com, New York Baseball Digest, and has written for The New York Times, ESPN.com, and numerous other publications. His new book "Taking the Field" is available for pre-order on Amazon.com and will be published on May 10, 2011 by Bloomsbury. Howard's first book about Jewish baseball players, "The Baseball Talmud," is available wherever books are sold.
Follow Howard on Twitter @HowardMegdal. Email Howard at hmegdal@yahoo.com.